QF flight times SYD to LAX - why do they fly in the morning?

[gumpy]

Guys

does anyone know why QF fly in the morning and land in LAX early their morning? Air NZ do the 9:30pm flights where you can get decent sleep on the flight which I much prefer.

Are there any situations where the QF timetable is better? The only way I can make it work is if I take sleeping tablets which i don't want to do...

 

[markis10]

Pax can arrive the morning of the same day they leave, allowing a full days work.

 

[Undercover Brother]

Ditto. Have you been in an International arrivals hall anywhere in the world at 6/7am? Very very busy.

 

[JohnK]

I think it is more to do with scheduling flights so that they arrive erly and allow people to connect to other flights the same day.

 

[gumpy]

I think it is more to do with scheduling flights so that they arrive erly and allow people to connect to other flights the same day.

Ah... ok... that makes sense...

 

[Febs]

I think it is more to do with scheduling flights so that they arrive erly and allow people to connect to other flights the same day.

For me it's this. I could always land in LAX, comfortably connect to a DFW flight, then onto a <insert destination here> flight, and be comfortably at my final destination by ~5pm Sunday evening, ready for work Monday morning.

Bit easier with the SYD-DFW flights now, though there goes some nice SC earning on AA F. :\

Cheers,
- Febs.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Guys

does anyone know why QF fly in the morning and land in LAX early their morning? Air NZ do the 9:30pm flights where you can get decent sleep on the flight which I much prefer.

Are there any situations where the QF timetable is better? The only way I can make it work is if I take sleeping tablets which i don't want to do...

Didn't know you could get decent sleep in the air!

 

[JohnK]

Didn't know you could get decent sleep in the air!

Trust me it is possible. I do it all the time in economy. Make sure you are tired and want to sleep and it will happen.

A couple of weeks ago returned BKK-SIN-PER-SYD. Fell asleep as soon as I started watching the movie after dinner on the SIN-PER flight and then fell asleep after breakfast on the PER-SYD morning flight on a 767 as soon as the movie started. Dnn't remember much about either flight which is good as I was able to return to normal sleeping patterns right away and get to work easily the next day.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Agree JohnK, you must be tired, worn out in fact!

I use meds sometimes which can help

 

[JohnK]

For me it's this. I could always land in LAX, comfortably connect to a DFW flight, then onto a <insert destination here> flight, and be comfortably at my final destination by ~5pm Sunday evening, ready for work Monday morning.

Bit easier with the SYD-DFW flights now, though there goes some nice SC earning on AA F. :\

To steal a phrase from another AFFer 'Why fly direct when you can connect?'

I do not travel to the US that often but I would still rather take my chances with multuple QF flights a day and continue flying SYD/MEL-LAX-DFW/ORD-xx_.

I see no value in saving an hour or two and going direct to DFW if I had a choice. I would much rather have the extra SCs and QFF points.

 

[NM]

For me the early am arrival means making connections further east for a daytime arrival at final destination is beneficial.

Air NZ also consider connections to Europe in their reckoning as AKL-LAX-LHR is a popular routing.

 

[Febs]

To steal a phrase from another AFFer 'Why fly direct when you can connect?'

I do not travel to the US that often but I would still rather take my chances with multuple QF flights a day and continue flying SYD/MEL-LAX-DFW/ORD-xx_.

I see no value in saving an hour or two and going direct to DFW if I had a choice. I would much rather have the extra SCs and QFF points.

Personally I agree, but I'm assuming that SYD-DFW on QF would be significantly cheaper than SYD-LAX on QF and LAX-DFW on AA First, in which case it would be a pretty hard case to make to my employer/clients that I should be taking the longer, more expensive route...

If the cost was roughly the same though, I'd definitely connect.

Cheers,
- Febs.

 

[gumpy]

Personally I agree, but I'm assuming that SYD-DFW on QF would be significantly cheaper than SYD-LAX on QF and LAX-DFW on AA First, in which case it would be a pretty hard case to make to my employer/clients that I should be taking the longer, more expensive route...

If the cost was roughly the same though, I'd definitely connect.

Cheers,
- Febs.

I use to love connecting until i realised my body didn't really like it by the end of the year... I'd take the direct flight to DFW any day... What I really want is a direct to ORD... come on 787... laern to fly...

 

[UP4014]

I think it is more to do with scheduling flights so that they arrive erly and allow people to connect to other flights the same day.

Yes, and the aircraft is turned around during the day ready to go out again that night. So it's earning money while everyone sleeps.

 

[simongr]

Agree JohnK, you must be tired, worn out in fact!

On international flights I am generally asleep on take off. I tend to find I get a number of short sleeps on flights (2-3 hours) so if I can manage 4-6 hours on a 10 hour flight that is almost as much as I get on a regular night.

 

[docjames]

V Aust found when they initially started with a later departure out of Aus and late-morning arrival into LAX that the connections to the east coast were lousy - it meant hanging around LA all day then ending up on a red-eye flight.

The early AM arrival into LAX is timed to make connections to east coast destinations that day with a 5-10 PM arrival onto east coast.

 

[gumpy]

V Aust found when they initially started with a later departure out of Aus and late-morning arrival into LAX that the connections to the east coast were lousy - it meant hanging around LA all day then ending up on a red-eye flight.

The early AM arrival into LAX is timed to make connections to east coast destinations that day with a 5-10 PM arrival onto east coast.

but it makes the first flight so painful =( but yeah it makes sense now.....

 

[JohnPhelan]

but it makes the first flight so painful =( but yeah it makes sense now.....

Simple solution - don't sleep that night before your flight! Then you will drop off to sleep quite quickly when in the air.

 

[JohnK]

but it makes the first flight so painful =( but yeah it makes sense now.....

Perhaps it is just me but surely the shorter the flight the better for the body. I can tolerate a lot of things but 10-12 hours in an aircraft cabin is too taxing on the body, 13-14 hours is torture and I may just do it once to find out if one is able to survive a 15-18 hour flight unscathed.

The cabin type is irrelevant. Pressurised cabins are the biggest issue. Lack of quality fresh air, cramped spaces causing swelling in the legs etc.

Personally I would rather do three 6 hour flights in succession and get to destination a little later than do one 15 hour flight. But hey to each their own....

 

[simongr]

but it makes the first flight so painful =( but yeah it makes sense now.....

Painful?

The flight leaves at 11:50AM - seems a perfect time to me.

9AM Leave the house, having gotten up at 6:30AM, finished packing and refined media to take with me etc.
9:50 Arrive airport
10:00 Enter F lounge
10:03 Wonder where my Verve Deveaux is
10:05 Order breakfast and second glass of Deveaux
10:35 Waddle out of restaurant to call home and have a chat before the flight
11:15 start getting itchy feet so repack things and turn devices to flight mode
11:20 Wander out of lounge
11:40 Board
11:41 Change into PJs
11:42 Request champers
12:10 Finally take off

The next three to five hours are spent watching TV, having lunch and a couple of cold beers

17:00 Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep for about 6 hours
23:00 Wake, order some form of snack
01:00 reset watch to LAX time
06:15 Stand in queue for immigration
07:00 Start wait for bags
08:00 Finally get bags and put them on another conveyor
08:02 Breeze through security express lane (after being intimate with the TSA)
08:05 Enter flagship lounge and pour a cold beer (don't drink US "champagne")

How is any of this painful?